Fintech
Fintech firm Wise warns customers of potential data exposure in Evolve Bank breach: Tech: Tech Times
From Quincy JonTech Times Jul 01, 2024 07:12 PM EDT
Wise said Evolve Bank and Trust data breach may have affected the data of some of its customers. This incident highlights the uncertainty for third-party companies and their users, potentially harming unnamed companies and startups.
Wise announced on Friday its 2020-2023 partnership with Evolve to provide USD account data on its website. According to TechCrunch, some consumers personal data may be involved in the Evolve incident.
The company will send an email to customers who “may have been directly affected by this data breach.”
Wise provided Evolve US with customers’ names, addresses, dates of birth, contact information, and Social Security numbers or EINs. Non-US customers received a different identification number from Wise. The number of affected customers is unknown as Wise is “actively investigating, the number of affected customers is unknown.”
LockBit Involved in Evolve Bank Data Breach
According to Evolve, an employee opened a malicious link that led to LockBit’s ransomware attack in May. The company denied that scammers stole users’ dollars, although they downloaded customer data between February and May.
A woman uses a laptop on April 3, 2019 in Abidjan.
(Photo: ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images)
Evolve Banks’ partner financial firms, Affirm, EarnIn, Marqeta, Melio, and Mercury, are assessing the impact of the breach on their customers. A fintech writer, Jason Mikula, posted Branch’s breach notice on X.
According to Reuters, Evolve Bank and Trust revealed last week that the cybersecurity incident exposed customers data on the dark web. The Arkansas bank has hired law enforcement to assist in its investigation and response, according to a spokesperson.
“All affected consumers will receive free credit monitoring and identity theft protection. The bank spokesperson said that affected parties will receive direct instructions on how to enroll in these preventive measures.
The Federal Reserve asked Evolve to improve its fintech partnerships and anti-money laundering risk management systems earlier this month. The attack highlighted the weaknesses of the financial sector.
After claiming responsibility, Lockbit 3.0 has published Evolve Bank data, according to Bloomberg News. Hackers have offered the Fed until Tuesday afternoon to pay a ransom to prevent the release of critical data from an alleged breach at the central bank.
Evolve Bank Refuses to Pay Ransom
Mercury, a financial startup, reported on social media platform X that the Evolve security breach included customer account details and deposit balances. Mercury said it had informed affected customers about data protection measures.
In a blog, Evolve Bank said it refused to pay the ransom demanded by those responsible for the data breach. Following the data breach, the bank took several security precautions, including a global password reset and rebuilding key identity access management components such as Active Directory and stronger firewalls.
The bank is also improving its security response systems, policies and procedures to detect and respond to suspicious events.
To help affected customers and partners, Evolve Bank will notify each owner of the compromised personal information. The bank will provide two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection. On July 8, 2024, the notifications will include information about a dedicated contact center to assist with credit monitoring registration and incident inquiries.
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